Buisness aviation news

This week saw a marked drop-in flight activity in some key geographies, notably California, Germany, Saudi Arabia, China and Morocco. It was notable that the blue riband event for European bizav, the Monaco Grand Prix, drew 15% fewer bizjet visits than in 2019.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) published the First Quarter 2024 General Aviation Aircraft Shipment and Billing Report. The results for the first three months of 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023, show deliveries were flat for piston airplanes and piston helicopters, decreased for turboprops and turbine helicopters, and increased for business jets. Total aircraft billings were up 3.2% at $4.7 billion.

The latest week shows stable activity compared to last year, with fractional activity still booming, in contrast to some weaker charter demand, particularly at the light end of the market. Various gala events will see peaks in traffic in Europe in the next few weeks, starting with the Champions League Finals bringing visitors to London airports next week.

Bizjet activity week 19 2024 is flat overall, with some significant regional divergence, noting significant weakness in Germany, Middle East, Africa and Asia, but strength in Texas, Switzerland and Brazil.

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Business jet utilisation is fraying slightly on comparable 2023 flight volumes, which is itself some way below the post-pandemic peak. But the Super Mid and Ultra Long-Range fleet is racking up more activity than ever.

The outlook for business jet activity is softening in Europe as utilisation levels fall below 2019 levels, notably in Germany and France. The US market is relatively resilient, especially for large fleet operators in the charter and fractional space.

Compared to last year, April’s trends are stronger than March, with growth in most of the top markets. UK, France and Germany were exceptions in Europe, with the charter market notably weakening. Bizjet activity in the Middle East saw further erosion, markedly Saudi Arabia. In the US, large business jets are seeing strongest demand. US charter demand is tailing off this month, Part 135 flights down 6% in week 16.

The first quarter of 2024 ended on a buoyant note with an uptick in preowned business aircraft sales, according to the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA). IADA’s First Quarter 2024 Market Report also indicated an optimistic outlook for the next six months.

Geopolitical tensions are visibly impinging on bizjet demand, with flights in the Middle East dropping off 20% in Week 15. The European market has idled this year, stagnating around the same levels of demand 5 years ago. The US market is still growing, especially for the top operators. Bizjet visitors to airports hosting the Masters golf tournament were up by 15% compared to last year’s event.

At the start of April (1st – 7th), global bizjet sectors are 2% ahead of comparable last year, trailing 2022 by 4%, 37% ahead of 5 years ago. Over the same period, scheduled airline activity is 24% ahead year-on-year, 12% ahead of 2019. Dedicated cargo sectors start this month are 3% ahead of last year, 18% ahead of 2019.

Overall flight volumes are so far very similar to last year, but with considerable variance by region and operator type, with demand in Europe clearly ebbing, the US flat overall but at record highs in New Jersey, fractional operations powering ahead.

Business aviation activity is robust everywhere but Europe in March 2024. The core US market is normally busiest this time of year, and is slightly stronger than March last year when demand was affected by the regional banking crisis, but still some way off the peak in the post-Covid market back in March 2022.

Spring Break in the US has seen the usual surge in bizav in Florida, notably. Compared to same March period in 2019, Florida bizjet departures are up 56%.

Year on year, the latest week saw strong growth, keeping 2024 a little ahead of 2023. The US is providing the ballast, with strong growth in South America and Asia, offsetting a slide in European demand.

Globally, bizjet flights were up 1% last week, slightly ahead of the flat last 4-week trend, a considerable improvement on the relatively weak demand in January. The US market is holding up, Europe is dipping compared to last year, the Middle East also, whereas bizjet demand in South America and Asia is well up on last year.

Global bizjet trends are flat over the last 4 weeks, recovering from the dip at the start of the year. The most recent week showed a 3% increase in the US, with Part 135 activity out of Florida up 11%, but Canada continues to see steep declines. Europe is flat, extending a 3% decline over the last month.

Holiday bizjet traffic during Presidents´ Day shows demand is still quite robust in the US, only 2% below last year´s high point. Bizjet traffic in Europe is slumping, down 10% in week 7, deteriorating on the 5% decline in the last 4 weeks. Demand in Germany is wilting, but still high levels of traffic in Spain. Bizjet activity in the Middle East is down. Australia is still a growth market.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) released the 2023 General Aviation Aircraft Shipments and Billings Report during its annual State of the Industry Press Conference. Overall, when compared to 2022, all aircraft segments saw increases in shipments and preliminary aircraft deliveries were valued at $27.8 billion, an increase of 3.6%.

Business jet activity was stronger this week than last, picked up 4%, with particularly big increase in the UK, flights up 26%; this may indicate the peak ski season around school break. Business jet activity in South America is hitting peak levels. In Turkey, activity is a lot lower than the high demand last year, during the earthquake. The Middle East is seeing substantially lower demand year on year. The overall market is only modestly behind 2023, due to the stability in the US market, where Texas and Florida still have strong demand.